The present invention relates to computer system planars and more particularly to a riser card for increasing the number of PCI (peripheral component interconnect) adapter cards supported in a standard computer system planar.
A standard computer system planar/motherboard is the xcexcATX planar. Included on the xcexcATX planar are expansion slots that allow peripheral component interconnect (PCI) adapter cards to be inserted in the computer system. The adapter cards are plugged into the planar at a right angle. The height of the adapter cards limits the ability to achieve a slim-line desktop with an xcexcATX motherboard, because the lowest height is equal to the width of the adapter card plus the planar plus the mechanical. Generally, the lowest height is approximately over 5 inches, while the requirement for a slim-line desktop is approximately 3 inches.
Previous solutions for a slim-line desktop use a riser card to handle the height problem. The riser card plugs into the motherboard and has multiple slots with minimal slot spacing so that a slim-line desktop can be produced. However, an alternate planar designed to work with a riser card, known as NLX, is usually used to achieve the slim-line desktop. The use of the alternate planar for slim-line desktop creates problems such as two platforms, additional cost and inventory. Further, use of riser cards on the xcexcATX planars still lack the ability to support multiple PCI adapter cards from a single PCI slot on the planar.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for achieving support for multiple PCI adapter cards in a single PCI slot on an xcexcATX planar. The present invention addresses such a need.
Multiple PCI adapter cards are supported by a single PCI slot through the aspects of the present invention. A computer system aspect includes an xcexcATX planar including at least one PCI slot, and a riser card mounted in the at least one PCI slot, the riser card supporting multiple PCI adapter cards and providing signal generation to allow the multiple PCI adapter cards to utilize the at least one PCI slot. The riser card aspect includes a PCI connector for coupling to a PCI slot on the xcexcATX planar, a plurality of PCI slots for attaching a plurality of PCI adapter cards, and a logic device for providing separate bus signal pairs to each of the plurality of PCI adapter cards from a single signal pair of the PCI slot on the xcexcATX planar.
Through the present invention, expansion of an xcexcATX planar to support multiple PCI adapter cards without altering the planar is achieved. Thus, while the standard planar may be utilized in tower system arrangements, the utilization of the riser card in accordance with the present invention allows the same planar to be used in a very small desktop package. These and other advantages of the aspects of the present invention will be more fully understood in conjunction with the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.